Startup Dreams

Living an Entrepreneur's Life

Just two years after graduating from Haas, 23-year-old Doreen Bloch, BS 10, is already calling her own shots.

Now living in New York, Bloch was so inspired by her first post-graduation job working for Second- Market.which facilitates trading private company stock.that she became an expert on startups and is publishing a book about them. The Coolest Startups in America offers a rundown of Bloch's 72 favorite startups as well as insights into such topics as when a startup is no longer considered a startup. (When it is no longer at the cusp of vast growth, she says). The book hit Amazon.com in February.

Bloch's current favorite startups: Square, the device that lets users swipe credit cards on smartphones; and renttherunway.com, the designer duds rental site. "People don't know about these things," she says. "My goal is that every chapter makes your jaw drop."

Bloch is in the startup game herself, launching the company Poshly, which matches consumers with well-suited beauty products, in beta during Fashion Week in February. "I used my research for the book to be a source for my own startup," she says. "I hope the book shows readers that if others can do it, they can too."